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Sunday, February 24, 2008

The one young rooster I have is playing games again. He's given up his quest for feed from the broilers, but he toys with me in other ways.

Lately, he has been taking to sitting above me in the rafters of the coop (they are about 8' off the floor), and crowing at me. He will stand there, DARING me to try and grab him. He will stick his neck down below the rafter he's standing on and yell at me. He'll keep doing it until I make a swipe for him, then he'll jump to the next rafter and start in again. I have the last laugh though, while he's playing games, his buddies are being fed, so he misses out on most of breakfast!

He has an odd crow, too. Instead of the "normal" "cock-a-doodle-do", he lets loose a "Dert-taaa-dert-der". I can always tell who the noisy one is.....they all sound different! I have an old metal rabbit nest I use for the hens to lay in. Usually I find one egg in it in the morning, then several in it by early evening. This morning, I walked into the coop, and there was Mr Rooster sitting in the nest - complete with egg! He just sat there, eyeing me. I finally reached for him before he dove out of the nest and ran for a corner. I'm beginning to wonder about him....

Then later, I was in the kitchen peeling some boiled eggs, when I heard him coming closer to the house. That "infamous" crow was getting louder. Our kitchen is on the back side of our house - on the side away from the chicken houses. I don't know how, but he KNEW I was in the kitchen. I looked out and saw him "sneaking" closer to the back of the house. None of the other chickens were even in SIGHT! My wife was still asleep, and here comes this loudmouth rooster right by the window next to the bed!

Even with the windows closed, a rooster's crow can be pretty loud. This guy was REALLY trying to play games now! Time to bring out the "Big Gun"!I went into the other room and retrieved the "chicken's worst nightmare" (besides the axe) - a Crossman BB gun! I didn't need to "wound" the guy, just "sting" him a little. I loaded the rifle, pumped it twice, and slowly opened the patio door....

It's like big game hunting in Africa, only on a smaller scale....

I waited until the mighty rooster came within about 50'. He KNEW he had been "had" just as I pulled the trigger. As the BB found it's mark, he jumped up in a squawk and ran off toward the safety of the coop, and to tell his buddies how he defeated the evil human, yet again. I heard him about 10 minutes later. "Dert-taaa-dert-der".

Sometimes, I think even his fellow chickens are beginning to wonder about his sanity......